Five Statistical Facts about Mike Hampton

Left-handed pitcher Mike Hampton seemed to always be there in the late 1990s to keep the home runs hitters of the era tamed. A lengthy career which included missing the entire 2006 and 2007 seasons due to an injury, these are five statistical facts you should know about him.

1999 Season

Let’s start with the best season Hampton had, the 1999 season with the Houston Astros. That year Hampton was 22-4 with a 2.90 ERA. He pitched in 239 innings and allowed only 12 home runs. Hampton also had 2 shutouts and finished second in the Cy Young Award voting to Randy Johnson who happened to have 12 complete games.

Home Runs Allowed

Hampton allowed 200 home runs in his career, however, there is one important thing to note about the home runs he allowed. If not for the 2001 and 2002 seasons where he pitched for the Colorado Rockies, there was not a single season where Hampton allowed more than 18 home runs. In 2001 he allowed 31 and in 2002 he allowed 24. Based on how he pitched everywhere else, I definitely blame Coors Field.

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Silver Sluggers: 5

From 1999-2003 Hampton won every Silver Slugger Award that he could. A career .246 hitter, Hampton hit .283 during these five seasons. Eliminating the 2003 season, his batting average was .303. As you may guess his two best offensive seasons came as a member of the Rockies. In 2001 he hit .291 with 7 home runs and 16 RBIs. In 2002 he only hit 3 home runs with 5 RBIs, but did have a .344 batting average.

Postseason Pitching

Hampton’s time pitching in the postseason was a bit varied. He finished his career with a 2-4 postseason record and a 3.74 ERA. His 2 wins came in the 2000 NLCS with the New York Mets as they defeated the St. Louis Cardinals on their way to the World Series. Hampton didn’t allow a single run in 16 innings during the series and even pitched a shutout. Without a doubt he earned the NLCS MVP Award.

Surprisingly High WHIP

A career 4.06 ERA and a pretty good overall record of 148-115, you might suspect his career WHIP was a lot better than it actually was. Hampton’s career WHIP is only 1.44. In the great 1999 season it was actually 1.28. Hampton walked a lot of batters, gave up even more hits, and managed get out of trouble because hitting a home run off of him was never an easy task.

Five Statistical Facts about Andre Dawson

It took Andre Dawson a couple tries to get into the Hall of Fame. A slow climb up from 2002 until he got in during the 2010 Hall of Fame elections, Dawson was finally rewarded for a great career. A great power hitter who had other skills as well, these are five statistical facts about the man we came to know as The Hawk.

Home Runs

Dawson’s 21-year career may best be remembered for his home run power. Dawson finished with 438 home runs included the league leading 49 he hit in 1987 during his first season with the Chicago Cubs. This was the only time Dawson ever led the league in home runs and one of three teams he hit over 30 in a season.

League Leader

In addition to leading the league in home runs during the 1987 season, Dawson also led with 137 RBIs. This helped to land him the National League MVP. Dawson led the league in several other categories in his career. The most notable was in 1983 when as a member of the Montreal Expos he led the league with 189 hits.

Intentional Walks

A very large portion of Dawson’s walks were actually intentional. In 1990 he had a league leading 21 intentional walks and also happened to walk for a total of only 42 times. His career ended with just 589 walks, 143 of them done intentionally.

Gold Gloves: 8

Dawson owns 8 Gold Gloves. He won these in 1980-1985 and again in 1987 and 1988. The first few came playing as a center fielder with the latter ones occurring as a right fielder.

Postseason Batting

Playing for the Montreal Expos and Chicago Cubs means Dawson clearly had very few opportunities to play postseason baseball. In 15 postseason games Dawson hit only .186 without ever hitting a home run. He had only 2 extra base hits; 1 triple in the 1981 NLDS and 1 double in the 1989 NLCS.

Five Statistical Facts about Mark Trumbo

His name may sound like an instrument your parents make you learn in high school, but I assure you he’s more than that. Mark Trumbo is a hard-swinging, power-hitting baseball player who may not have shown us everything he’s capable of. Now one of the core members of the Arizona Diamondbacks he will look to have an impressive year in 2015 backed by these five statistical facts.

30+ Home Runs

To keep things for fair Trumbo, I will say he has had three full major league seasons. His first year was only 8 games and in 2014 he only played in 88. Out of the other three seasons he has reached the 30 home run mark twice with the other season ending with 29 home runs. A full and healthy year for him is almost a guarantee to hit the 30 home run mark.

Things to Improve On: Walks to Strikeouts Ratio

Trumbo strikes out a lot and that’s perfectly fine for the power he provides. In 2013 he struck out a career high 184 times. That same season he reached 54 walks, also a career high. However, Trumbo is only averaging about 1 walk for every 4 strikeouts. This has punished his on-base percentage which is currently a lifetime .298.

By EricEnfermero (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)%5D, via Wikimedia Commons

Not a Bad Left Fielder

Don’t expect him to win a Gold Glove, but do count on Trumbo to play left field better than assumed. In 916.1 career innings at the position he has actually only committed 1 error. Compared to third base where he has 4 errors in 9 games, the best place for Trumbo is certainly in left field.

Awards and Honors

Yet to win any major award or honors, Trumbo did finish second in the Rookie of the Year voting in 2011 and was named an All-Star in 2012. Trumbo earned 5 first place votes on the Rookie of the Year ballot, but lost to Jeremy Hellickson.

Lack of Doubles

Settling for a double rather than a home run has not been a common compromise for Trumbo. In 2011 he had 31 doubles compared to 29 home runs. In 2014 he had 15 doubles compared to 14 home runs. His other two seasons, 2012 and 2013, he had 19/32 and 30/34 doubles to home run ratio. To become an elite player he’s going to have to get a few more line drive hits into the gap for two-base hits.

Fantasy Baseball Take on Billy Hamilton

The fastest baseball player this side and the other side of the Mississippi is probably Cincinnati Reds’ outfielder Billy Hamilton. The 2014 NL Rookie of the Year runner-up has been swiping bases his entire life and his debut was expected to change very little as far as this part of his baseball game was concerned. For the most part, we weren’t disappointed.

Hamilton is an incredibly dangerous weapon. His stole 56 bases last year and if you ask most pitchers is probably the biggest pest on the base paths. While important in baseball, it does very little in fantasy.

Often times a stolen base in a fantasy baseball league isn’t worth very much. The fat numbers you want to look at more are home runs. Blame it on the fact that when fantasy baseball boomed, home runs were all the range. Maybe if fantasy baseball was bigger in the 1980s a stolen base would have more value. This just isn’t the case and Hamilton suffers because of it.

By John on Flickr (Original version) UCinternational (Crop) [CC BY-SA 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)%5D, via Wikimedia Commons

Hamilton is still far from an absolute pain for your fantasy team at the plate. He did hit .250 last year and should get better as he gets more at-bats. The 117 strikeouts, though, is alarming. Did you know Chipper Jones never struck out 100 times in his career? Granted he’s a Hall of Famer, but the point is that with power come strikeouts. When you lack power like Hamilton does, strikeouts aren’t acceptable.

Somehow Hamilton did still provide the Reds with 6 home runs. He also had 25 doubles which really isn’t all that bad for a guy we don’t expect to drive the ball very far on a regular basis.

Many fantasy baseball managers will overlook his shortcomings and give him a chance on their roster. For me, he’s just not doing it. Hamilton didn’t even have a .300 OBP last season. It’s not a statistic that really affects a player, but it does reflect on everything else.

Eventually Hamilton may be a strong selection. When the Reds are strong offensively and Hamilton is getting on base more, sure, it’s time to take him. Right now you’re better off with someone more proven with a better chance at giving you points with hits than stolen bases.

In leagues like Yahoo might do where stolen bases are their own category, Hamilton is best used as a bench player or alternative to play late in the week when you need to pick up some stolen bases. Other scenarios you’re relying too heavily on one skill.

More Hits on an Article about Dan Uggla Than He Has Since 2010

I wrote an article today for Innings Eaters about Dan Uggla making the 25-man roster for the Washington Nationals. Surprisingly, it’s been my most popular one yet as I am beginning to understand which articles get more hits than others a little better.

Right now it’s up to 612 hits. Since 2010, Uggla only has 525 of them. I’m not saying my writing should have done better in the Atlanta Braves’ lineup over the last few seasons, but I am saying they should have at least given me a chance.

Special thanks to Uggla for making the roster and giving me a great Easter Sunday as I challenge for my first 1,000 hit day on Innings Eaters.

By dbking on Flickr (Originally posted to Flickr as “IMG_3317”) [CC-BY-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)%5D, via Wikimedia Commons

Five Statistical Facts about Kirby Puckett

Blink and you may have missed the Hall of Fame career Kirby Puckett put together. Puckett played in 12 seasons in the major leagues yet he managed to make the most of it all. Here are five statistical facts Mr. Minnesota Twin.

Leading the League in Hits: 4 Times

There are 4 times in Puckett’s career where he had more hits than anybody else in the league. This happened 1987-1989 and again in 1992. His high was in 1988 when he had an amazing 234 hits along with a .356 batting average. Unfortunately Wade Boggs hit .366 so a batting title was not there for Puckett to win. He would have to wait until the following season when he won it hitting .339.

RBI Average

Puckett’s 162 Game Average for RBIs in his career falls just short of 100 at 99. Since he average 149 games a season, his actual RBI average per season was still a very respectable 90. When Puckett reached the 100 mark in RBIs he made sure he didn’t inch over the mark. He had three seasons over 100 at 110, 112, and 121.

By Jeff Self from Chesapeake (Now batting, Kirby Puckett) [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)%5D, via Wikimedia Commons

10-Time Consecutive All-Star

From 1986-1995 when he played his last season Puckett was an All-Star. In that same ten-year span Puckett finished in the Top 10 MVP voting 7 times.

Fielding

Puckett won 6 Gold Gloves in his career, primarily playing center field. One thing he seemed to excel at was outfield assists. In his 12 seasons Puckett had 142 outfield assists: 29 from right field and 110 from center field.

Postseason Hitting

Whenever Puckett went into the playoffs he made sure he brought a championship back to Minnesota. He robbed extra base hits with leaping catches, hit walk-off home runs, and by the end was drawing intentional walks because the Atlanta Braves feared him so much. From a strictly statistical standpoint, Puckett was still great. In the 24 postseason games he played in, Puckett hit 5 home runs with a .309 batting average.

Five Statistical Facts about Barry Zito

Baseball’s best or worst Jekyll and Hyde story of the century, pitcher Barry Zito had two completely different careers with the Oakland Athletics and San Francisco Giants. He’s planning a comeback in the 2015 season and before he does you should know these five statistical facts about him.

Oakland versus San Francisco

Here are some of the numbers from Zito’s time with the Athletics and Giants to give you an idea just how drastically different his career turned:

Oakland: 102-63, 3.55 ERA, 1.25 WHIP
San Francisco: 63-80, 4.62 ERA, 1.43 WHIP

It’s amazing how one trip across the bay can change a man.

Wild Thing

One of Zito’s biggest weaknesses no matter what uniform he wore was his wildness. His career walks per 9 is currently 3.7. Things got so bad in 2008 when he actually surpassed the 100-walk mark when he issued 102 base on balls.

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2002 Cy Young Award Season

Long ago Zito won the 2002 Cy Young Award. That year he was 23-5 with a 2.75 ERA. Zito also finished 13th in the American League MVP voting as he helped lead the Athletics to the postseason.

Postseason Pitching

One thing, even as a member of the Giants, Zito has always been good at is pitching in October. In 10 career starts, Zito is 6-3 with a 2.83 ERA. He has had a few bad starts, but made up for it the last time he appeared in the postseason which just happened to be a victory in the World Series.

Blame Matt Kemp

When he joined the Giants, one player Zito had to face a lot more often was Matt Kemp of the Los Angeles Dodgers. You can’t exactly blame Kemp for everything wrong with Zito’s career. You can however give Kemp some of the credit as in 60 at-bats, Kemp had a .417 batting average against Zito. Kemp also had 3 home runs and 10 RBIs with a .485 on-base percentage. Facing the Dodgers as often as he did in a Giants’ uniform, Kemp was the one guy Zito must have really hated facing.

Five Statistical Facts about Jered Weaver

No longer the little brother than Jeff Weaver, pitcher Jered Weaver has carved out a nice career for himself exclusively in a Los Angeles Angels’ uniform. An absolute winner, these are five statistical facts from his ongoing career.

An Absolute Winner

Déjà vu much? It’s worth repeating that Weaver is a winning pitcher. In each season since making his debut in 2006, Weaver has finished with an above .500 record. His career winning percentage is .655 with a record of 131-69. Each season has also ended with Weaver reaching double digits in wins.

Win Totals

Weaver is such a guaranteed win that it’s worth mentioning more. Twice Weaver has led the league in wins. He did so in 2012 when he won 20 and again in 2014 when he won 18. The 2012 season was a bit more impressive than your first look as he only had 30 starts that season and wasn’t even able to reach 200 innings.

By Keith Allison from Owings Mills, USA (Jered Weaver Uploaded by Detredwings1139) [CC BY-SA 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)%5D, via Wikimedia Commons

Allowing Home Runs

One of the few weaknesses in Weaver’s game is his tendency to allow lots of home runs. In all but two seasons he has allowed more than a home run per 9 innings. His career average has however equaled out to exactly 1 home run per 9 which isn’t too shameful.

2010 Strikeout Total

For the most part strikeouts are not something to expect in surplus from Weaver. In 2010 he surprised us all by leading the league with 233 of them. Weaver has failed to even reach 200 strikeouts in a season again let alone come close to touching his career high.

Postseason Pitching

In 7 postseason games, 4 as a starter and 3 in relief, Weaver is 2-1 with a 2.60 ERA. In each of his first three appearances he faced off against the Boston Red Sox. He lost the first time and won the next two. In true Weaver fashion, he has allowed 5 home runs in only 27.2 postseason innings with a still very good ERA to back it up.

Five Statistical Facts about Robin Ventura

Hitting walk-off home runs for the New York Mets, getting punched while in a headlock by Nolan Ryan, and managing a Major League Baseball team are just three highlights from the career of Robin Ventura. One of baseball’s best offensive and defensive third baseman in the 1990s, these are five statistical facts from his playing days.

All-Star Selections: 2

This has to be a mistake. Ventura was only selected to 2 All-Star Games his entire career? Something must be wrong. Indeed this is the case though as Ventura only ever received an All-Star nod in 1992 with the Chicago White Sox and again in 2002 in his lone full season with the New York Yankees.

Setting Career Highs in the 1999 Season

Ventura may have thought the world was going to come to an end with the arrival of Y2K because in the 1999 season, his first with the Mets, he set several career highs. Ventura had 177 hits, 120 RBIs, and a .301 batting average. He nearly set a new high in several other categories however the 1996 season was almost equally as impressive and remained a year where he had nearly comparable numbers.

Gold Gloves: 6

If Ventura had a dime for every Gold Glove he won, he would have to ask his date to pay for their dinner. In terms of $10 bills, he could have taken her somewhere nice as he won 6 total in his career. All 6 of them came from 1991-1998 while with the Chicago White Sox.

Versus Nolan Ryan

No decision ever came in however we can safely say Ventura lost the fight against Nolan Ryan. At the plate, the results were not much different. Ventura was only 3 for 19 off of Ryan for a .158 batting average. One thing he did do well against Ryan though was get on base. Drawing 5 walks, this gave Ventura a career .384 on-base percentage versus the man whose armpit he knows best.

On-Base Guy

Like he was able to get on base while facing Ryan, Ventura was overall in his career a very talented player who could have worked well under the guidance of Billy Beane. Ventura had only 104 fewer walks than strikeouts in his career. A .267 batting average looks a lot better with the help of his career .362 on-base percentage. Even in his final seasons with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Ventura continued to draw walks. In his final season he hit only .243, but had a .337 on-base percentage because of the 22 walks he had in 152 at-bats.

Five Statistical Facts about Moises Alou

The son of a big leaguer, a World Series Champion, and the player at the front of the Steve Bartman incident; there’s very little Moises Alou didn’t accomplish in his major league career. He played all over the country and even spent some good years north of the border in Canada with the Montreal Expos. A great outfielder throughout the 1990s and 2000s, there are five statistical facts you should know about Alou.

 All-Star Selections: 6

Alou was selected to the All-Star Game 6 times in his career and with 5 different teams. Alou went there once with the Montreal Expos, Florida Marlins, Chicago Cubs, and San Francisco Giants. The team he went to the All-Star Game twice with was the Houston Astros.

Career Highs

Alou played in parts of 17 seasons and unfortunately suffered multiple injuries. He did still have some very respectable seasons where he put up career highs like these:

Runs Scored: 106 in 2004

Hits: 182 in 1998

Home Runs: 39 in 2004

RBIs: 124 in 1998

 A Hall of Famer?

Does Alou belong in the Hall of Fame? In my opinion he’s close, but not quite there. His 2134 career hits, 332 home runs, and 1287 RBIs are all very respectable yet a little short on Hall of Fame worthy. He does have a career batting average of .303, which if you go by the old phrase “3 out of 10 make a Hall of Famer” he would qualify. In 2014 when he was first eligible for Cooperstown, the voters apparently agreed with me as he received only 1.1% of the vote.

 Postseason Batting

Alou played in 34 career postseason games and hit .276. His two best series were the 1997 World Series when he hit .321 with 3 home runs and 9 RBIs as well as the 2003 NLDS when he hit .500 but only had one extra base hit which went for a double.

 Hitting Home Runs at Wrigley Field

When Alou joined the Chicago Cubs it seemed to be a perfectly fit if only because he hit more home runs at Wrigley Field than anywhere else. This isn’t simply a case of him loading up on them because he was a member of the Cubs. Alou actually hit more home runs with the Houston Astros and Montreal Expos than he did with the Cubs yet it’s Wrigley Field where he hit 58 home runs in his career. As for teams he hit the most home runs against that honor goes to the Cincinnati Reds.